Every week, Texas on the Potomac presents your favorite postings of the previous week. Today, we offer an encore of the top ten postings for the week ending April 23.

Meredith McDermott/Hearst Newspapers

Education Secretary Arne Duncan

1. Two weeks after the federal budget deal ended the eight-month dispute over $830 million in federal education funding, the Department of Education agreed to send the money to Texas. Richard Dunham reports>>>

2. On Good Friday, Sheila Jackson Lee said she was fasting to protest the GOP budget cuts and Gov. Rick Perry prayed for rain. Check out Friday’s TexMessage. Heather Caygle reports>>>

3. President Obama sat down with a local Dallas television reporter (who clearly didn’t know the rules for interviewing a President) and talked about he loves the Lone Star State, had nothing to do with the NASA decision, and how Gov. Rick Perry criticizes him yet happily takes federal aid. Sarah Tung reports>>>

4. Last week we polled you if Congress deserves a two-week spring break. Let’s just say you weren’t too supportive. Richard Dunham reports>>>

5. A study found that 57 percent of immigrants with children use at least one government welfare program. Texas immigrants showed the second highest usage at 61 percent: 54 percent legal immigrants 70 percent illegal immigrants. Gabriella Ferrari reports>>>

7. President Obama approved a $18.5 billion short term package to help NASA as its spending has been flat lined and the space shuttle program is down to its last two flights, but only in the short term. Stewart Powell reports>>>

8. Another Paul in Politics? Last week in TexMessage, we reported Dr. Robert Paul, son of Rep. Ron Paul and brother of Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY., mulled a Senate run for Kay Bailey Hutchison’s seat. Molly Harbarger reports>>>

9. As Americans were sending in their tax forms, estimates released showed illegal immigrants contribute $1.6 billion from the 1.65 million illegal immigrants in Texas. Molly Harbarger reports>>>

10. A year after Gov. Rick Perry said Texas could secede from the Union if it wanted to, he’s asking President Obama for federal aid to help contain the wildfires across the state. Katie Perkowski reports>>>